My fruitless olive trees are growing well, but with many branches growing out from the base. I’m not sure how I should prune them to encourage a single trunk at the base. As they mature, will the single trunk at the base develop by itself?

Answered by Nikki on August 4, 2011Certified Expert

A.

Your olives won't develop a single trunk on their own. To develop a single trunk, you need to prune out those branches at the base.

I have a small olive tree in a pot. Can that be left out in winter or taken indoors?

Answered by Nikki on October 20, 2011Certified Expert

A.

It depends on what zone you are in and the variety. Most olives are very cold tender and need to be brought in in the winter. To be on the safe side, we would say that if you live in a zone lower than Zone 9, the tree will need to be brought indoors.

We live in central England and have 3 old olive trees that were planted early spring and were thriving. We suffered with a very cold spell over Christmas, albeit with not a lot of snow, and 2 of the trees have lost all of their leaves. The 3rd has a few remaining leaves. They don’t have any buds but the stems are still green and bendy. Wiil they recover? Is there anything we should be doing to encourage growth?

Answered by Nikki on March 25, 2014Certified Expert

A.

As long as the stems are still alive, the trees can recover. The best thing that you can do with them is to just give them a little extra TLC. Trees that are more stressed are more likely to get pests so keep a sharp eye out for a possible pest infestation and treat it as soon as possible if you see one start.

We have 2 olive trees, not sure what sort, but they are roughly 8 yrs old and we have never had fruit. Why?

Answered by shelley on June 1, 2015Certified Expert

A.

It all depends on what cultivars you have. Many olive tree cultivars do not fruit until they are 5-12 years of age, however, there are some cultivars such as 'Arbequina' and 'Koroneiki' that fruit as young as 3 years old. And, most olive trees need a pollinator tree of a different cultivar (are both of your trees of different cultivars?). There are also non-fruiting cultivars of olive that never produce.